Euro Boxing: Mikkel Kessler; Vitali Tajbert; Stieglitz vs Siaca?

By Per Ake Persson: Will it be former WBA champ Manny Siaca, Jr, who will replace Edison Miranda as opponent for WBO supermiddle king Robert Stieglitz January 9 in Magdeburg? Well, at least he is one of the candidates and Puerto Rican paper El Nuevo Dia writes that there are talks although no deal was struck yet. Siaca, Jr, is in training – according to the paper with a fight against Australian Danny Green in sight – and weighs in just above the supermiddle limit and the fighter´s father, trainer and manager tells El Nuevo Dia they are ready to go if an agreement in regards of the financial terms can be met..

Kessler: Former WBA supermiddle champ Mikkel Kessler has dropped trainer Ricard Olsen, who has been with Mikkel since his very first day at the CIK gym in Copenhagen. It will now be Jimmy Montoya that takes over as head coach. Olsen was widely critizised for Kessler´s poor performance against Andre Ward but it´s an open question if the trainer was to blame for the way Mikkel fought. Kessler will face WBC champ Carl Froch April 17 in the second round of the Super Six Tournament.

Tajbert: The 23-year old man injured by WBC interim jr light champ Vitali Tajbert December 27 is, according to Bild Zeitung, still in intensive care but it is apparently no longer regarded as life threatening injuries.

Tajbert is said to have knocked out the 23-year with a single punch following an argument outside of a nightclub in Stuttgart last weekend

Henk Ruhling: Dutch promoter, manager, agent and matchmaker Henk Ruhling has passed away at the age of 89. Ruhling got into boxing after WWII had ended and was in his day one of the major power brokers in Europe. He also worked for many years in South America and the Caribbean. At home in the Netherlands Ruhling managed and promoters fighters like Jan and Rudi Lubbers, Wim Snoek, Rudi Koopmans, Alex Blanchard, Jan Lefeber, Eddy Smulders and Fighting Nordin.